Officials from several countries have said that more than 1,000 people died in last week’s stampede near Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the BBC reports.
The last figure given by the Saudi authorities was 769.
However, a Nigerian official told the BBC that more than 1,000 bodies had been taken from the disaster site to morgues in the city of Jeddah.
Indian, Pakistani and Indonesian officials have also been quoted as saying they think more than 1,000 died.
Several countries have been severely critical of the way the Saudi authorities have handled the accident’s aftermath, notably Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran, which lost at least 228 people in the disaster.
Iranian Press TV claims the Saudi government confirms the death toll in the recent Hajj tragedy has reached 4,173.
It quotes Saudi Vice Minister of Health Hamad bin Muhammad Al-Duweila as saying on Tuesday that he has received a photo showing that 4,173 pilgrims were killed in the tragic incident in Minda, near the holy city of Mecca.
